The Isle of Axholme before drainage by Vermuyden 1626
Legend records a Kingdom of
Axholme as an independant state under
King Ornulffsson during the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy before
Alfred 'the Great' united the English against Viking invasions in about 880. After the
Norman conquest of 1066, the Manors of
Epworth,
Belton,
Haxey,
Owston,
Crowle,
Althorpe,
Luddington, Burnham and Lound,that is the whole of The Isle of Axholme were given to
Geoffrey de la Guerche (Wirce), together with the Manors of Blyborough, Gainsborough and Somerby. The Pilgrim Fathers led by
William Brewster left their roots in Axholme arriving in America aboard The Mayflower in 1621, and their marriages link to the first Presidents of the USA
George Washington and
John Adams. In 1626
Charles I contracted Dutch engineer
Cornelius Vermuyden, later knighted, to drain the Isle so that todaywe find the Isle land-locked between the major towns of
Doncaster,
Scunthorpe and
Gainsborough. From these ancestors many descendants and relatives now reside around the world. You will find many of them here on our site.
